It’s only the third day of the 2019 World Series of Poker, yet there’s plenty of action across the board and for all bankroll levels. The historical is being covered, with the final table of the Casino Employees Event set for conclusion on Friday, as the “BIG 50” rolls on after a big start to the tournament. Also in the mix: the first non-Hold’em event of the WSOP, the $1500 Omaha Hi/Lo event, and the $50,000 “High Roller for the 50th Anniversary” celebration tournament.
Six Left in Casino Employees Event
After two days of warfare with plastic coated squares of paper, the $500 Casino Employees Event is down to the final six. Leading the way when the table gathers again today at noon will be WSOP employee Isaac Hanson, who holds 5.55 million chips. Keeping pace with Hanson is Jorge Ruiz, a Nevada casino poker dealer, with 4.82 million chips. From there down, the players will have to either double up quick or take the long walk from the Amazon Room short of the WSOP bracelet.
1. Isaac Hanson, 5.55 million
2. Jorge Ruiz, 4.82 million
3. Nicholas Haynes, 2.725 million
4. Jesse Kertland, 1.62 million
5. Adam Lamers, 1.49 million
6. Jeffrey Fast, 1.19 million
These players were eliminated on Thursday evening, but will be credited with an official WSOP final table finish:
7. Christopher Bowen, $7229
8. Joseph Appler, $5438
9. Travis Williams, $4161
The champion will be crowned tonight at the Rio, with the WSOP bracelet and $62,345 going to the winner.
“BIG 50” Off to Big Start
The “BIG 50” – one of the many celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the WSOP, was expected to be…well, big…but what wasn’t know was just HOW big. The $500 buy in tournament with four starting days and the ability for players who are eliminated (or just not happy with their stack) to reenter promised to take a run at the record 22,374 entries that was set by “THE COLOSSUS” in 2015. If the numbers hold up after Day 1A, then there will be a new record set.
A stunning 6148 entries were received on Thursday, with an equally amazing number of 1620 players surviving the carnage to bag up at the end of the night. Whether all those players will be happy with their bag is up to them, but these ten people will come back in style for Day 2A of the “BIG 50” when it begins this afternoon.
1. Cosimo Bisogno, 932,000
2. Luis Pinho, 808,000
3. Andrew Baldwin, 785,000
4. Brenton Rincker, 762,000
5. Ronald Leonard, 703,000
6. Sophal Yon, 700,500
7. Dwayne Kawar, 679,000
8. Marko Maher, 677,000
9. Tal Avivi, 671,000
10. Matthew Garvey, 666,000
If the numbers play out over the span of the four Day Ones, the 24,000-plus entries would break the record set by the inaugural “COLOSSUS.” It would also go a long way to demonstrating that poker is quite alive and well.
First Non-Hold’em Event Also Underway
853 players have come out for the first non-Hold’em tournament on the 2019 WSOP calendar. The $1500 Omaha Hi/Lo Eight or Better tournament came up a bit short of its 2018 counterpart (911 players), but the players aren’t going to argue over the $1,151,550 prize pool that has been built. 128 players will be the beneficiaries of the prize pool, with a min-cash paying out $2257 and the top prize of $228,228 and the WSOP bracelet going to the eventual champion.
373 players will be coming back on Friday to work closer to those who will cash. Leading the way will be Lawrence Michael, sitting on 79K in chips, while a WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo bracelet winner, 2008 champion Andrew Brown, is nipping at his heels with 78K in chips. There’s a long way to the money, however, and players like David Benyamine, Daniel Negreanu and John Monnette all may have something to say before Day 2 is completed.
1. Lawrence Michael, 79,000
2. Andrew Brown, 78,000
3. Derek McMaster, 66,700
4. Clifford Schinkoeth, 64,200
5. Nathaniel Wachtel, 63,100
6. Eric Watkins, 61,100
7. Andrew Chapman, 59,600
8. Ryan Turner, 58,500
9. Curtis Phelps, 58,200
10. Thida Lin, 57,400
The players will come back on Friday to blinds of 1K/2K and limits of 2K/4K, so nobody is safe. Suffice it to say that there could be a completely different list of names atop the standings by the time today’s action is completed.
“High Roller for 50th Anniversary” Starts Today
If there wasn’t enough action going on around the Rio on Friday, today also marks the start of the $50,000 “High Roller” to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the WSOP. This tournament should draw out the crème of the crop of the poker world. It is also one of the “High Roller” events that will be counted for the “High Roller of the Year” race on PokerGO. Action will begin at 3PM (Pacific Time) and continue over the next four days.
